Artificial Intelligence should never be given the autonomous power to hurt, destroy or decieve people, states House of Lords report.
The House of Lords Artificial Intelligence Committee’s report, AI in the UK: Ready, Willing and Able, said the UK has the potential to be a leader in developing AI. It called on the government to support businesses in the field.
What else did the report say?
It also recommended that people be educated to work alongside AI in the jobs of the future. The report advised that such education would “mitigate the negative effects” on jobs which are possible as AI develops.
It named Google, IBM and Microsoft as the current leaders in the field. But said there was a danger that the fast-growing industry would be monopolised by those few. They have amassed huge amounts of data and “must be prevented from becoming overly powerful” it said.
Despite the stark warning there was no need to create an AI-regulator to rein in those tech giants, said the report. Instead regulators in other industries should be aware of the growing use of AI in their sector, such as insurance and act accordingly.
It also recommends that more is done to protect people’s data rights and choices in an age of AI. This could include establishing a voluntary mechanism to inform people when AI is being used.
Lord Clement-Jones, the committee’s chair, said the UK has “a unique opportunity to shape AI positively for the public’s benefit.” He added the UK could lead on international development standards, rather than “passively” accepting the consequences of such development.
“The UK contains leading AI companies as well as a host of legal, ethical, financial and linguistic strengths. We should make the most of this environment,” he said.
The committee says the adoption of its recommendations would mean the UK is “ready, willing and able to take advantage of AI.”
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